Stuck with Me [Harry Potter]

Chapter 8 - A Light in the Darkness

Thestrals are, undeservedly, known as omens of misfortune and aggression by many wizards because they are visible only to those who have witnessed death at least once, and have fully accepted the concept...

Draco ran those lines through his head as he paced back and forth across the grass, the sun setting in the west.

He had seen death. Right in front of him. At the Dark Lord's discussion table in the manor. Draco felt his stomach twist at the memory of all that blood on the table, of those eyes of the dead woman staring back at him after her life left her body, practically begging him to bring her back to life...

He stopped and folded his arms, taking several deep breaths. To think, he could've taken a life like that if Snape never stepped in on the clock tower.

His calming process was interrupted by footsteps stepping behind him in the brittle grass. He sighed in frustration. He told her to leave him alone. He turned to face her as she walked to him and stopped a few meters away.

"I thought I said to leave me be," he said, his arms still folded and his mouth a flat line.

She nodded. "I know."

"Then why are you standing in front of me?"

"Because," she began in her light voice, "everyone needs comfort in a hard time, and I think you need it the most. The smallest things are getting to you."

"Psht, you think you know me..." he growled and looked away from her at the forest in the distance. The sun was almost gone under the horizon, making it just light enough to see.

"I know enough."

He glanced back at her and saw her usual calm-despite-of-anything face. It irritated him that she could be so calm when there was so much evil everywhere around her. She just stood there, not leaving. "Okay. What?"

"Have you heard of patronuses?"

Draco creased his brows. "Of course I have. Everyone has."

"What is your patronus?"

He looked away at a random rock in the yard, probably the one Luna tripped over the other day. "Don't know."

"You mean you never produced the patronus charm before?"

"I wasn't in that little 'Dumbledore's Army' that you were in with Potter and the others, practicing all that nonsense," he spat at her.

She nodded. "Yes, I remember. I remember you following me to the Room of Requirement with Mr. Filtch and the rest of Professor Umbridge's Inquisitorial Squad. And I believe it was you who dragged me into her office with the others."

Draco looked back on that memory. He recalled thinking that Luna's wrists were so small, like a child's, he could wrap one hand around both at the same time. His eyes flicked to her wrists as they there at her sides. He guiltily thought that he wouldn't completely mind trying to find out if that was still the case.

"Yes, I remember that too," he said. "My fifth year."

"And my fourth. So, you haven't produced one before? A patronus?"

He huffed through his nose. "No."

"It does take a lot of practice. Harry told us that the Patronus Charm is very difficult, and many witches and wizards are unable to produce a full patronus."

"So are you insinuating that I can't?" he asked with an edge.

"No. I'm just stating a fact. It was hard for me to produce my patronus."

Out of curiosity, he asked, "What animal?"

"A rabbit. Or a hare, as some people call it."

Draco's brows lifted, mildly impressed that Luna knew her patronus. It meant that she had conjured one before. Along with her intuition as to guess correctly what was on his mind, this was another small factor to add to the list of impressive things she could do.